Spring assembly



M. LEVINE SPRING ASSEMBLY April 6, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 led Aug. 5, 1963 INVENTOR. Mm .Zeuz'zze ATTORNEYS April 6, 1965 M. LEVINE 3,176,325

SPRING ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 5, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,176,325 srnnso ASSEMBLY Mac Levine, Worcester, Mass assignor to Webster Spring Co., Inc, Worcester, Mass. Filed Aug. 5, 1953, Ser. No. 299,699 5 Claims. (or. 5-24s) cushions upon which the user will sit. The customary procedure was to build this platform, by hand, into the ,frame of the chair or sofa. This was a slow operation, 7 requiring skill and which, because of the increasing cost of labor, has made the construction of such upholstered furniture very expensive.' In the attempt to facilitate this operationv and thus reduce the cost, it has been proposed to provide prefabricated or drop-in spring platforms .which were made up as independent units, for example by a spring manufacturer specializing in the preparation .of such devices, and which were designed to be installed by the furniture maker as provided by the spring manufacturer, thus freeing the furniture maker from the troublesome manual operations involved in the installation of a built-in platform. Among such" prefabricated platforms may be mentioned that disclosed in the patent to Levine, No. 2,910,114, dated October 27, 1959, which has proven commercially successful in so far as an individual unit of the patented device is concerned.

However, because the designers of furniture do not necessarily feel themselves restricted to such practical considerations as the availability of prefabricated platform units of the proper dimensions (although they have felt constrained to recognize a uniform front-to-rear dimension for furniture seats), the manufacturers of furniture, in attempting to adopt some of the designs offered to them and which, in other respects, might appear very desirable, have now found themselves faced with the necessity of ordering, from the makers of such prefabricated spring platforms, platforms custom-made to their particular requirements. This places an unwanted burden upon the manufacturer of such platforms. Not only must j he recalculate the proper spacing of springs to make platforms which are of unusual lengths, but because of the demand of the furniture maker to obtain such a custom-made platform immediately when ordered, the platformbuilder may find himself obliged to employ additional help or pay for overtime labor in order to produce the desired off-sized platform within a short period of time. Such mode of manufacture is annoying and troublesome to the platform manufacturer and obviously means a high cost of the completed article to the furniture maker.

The present invention has for its object the provision of a novel method whereby a spring assembly may be made up to substantially any desired length, for example .so as to fit a seat frame of arbitrarily fixed dimension and by the employment of a minimum amount of time and I labor, and the provision of a novel spring assembly such as results from the practice of said method. A further object is to provide for the manufacture of spring assemblies of, substantially any desired length, merely by the combination of standard parts so that the furniture manu- "facturer himself, if he so desire, may, according to the present invention, make up his own spring platforms to any desired length as required by the design which he f wishes to follow. Thus, it is unnecessary for him to order 3,176,325 Patented Apr. 6, 1965,

completed spring assemblies of unusual lengths from the spring manufacturer and eliminates the delays which are so often experienced in obtaining custom-made spring assemblies from an outside source.

Briefly stated, the above objects are attained, in accordance with the present invention, by providing prefabricated spring platforms within a range of widths wherein, for example, the narrowest or modular unit of the series fits the narrowest customary chair seat while each successive unit of the series differs in width from the next preceding one by a fixed amount referred to as the modular difference, and connecting devices, for uniting adjacent assembled spring platform units, are provided in a range of lengths wherein the length of the shortest is but a relatively small fraction of the width of the modular spring unit and each successive connector of the series differs in length from the preceding one by a fraction of one inch, herein referred to as the modular difference in length. By means of such a series of prefabricated spring platforms and connecting devices, it is possible for the furniture manufacturer, by assembling selected plat- "ice forms and connectors, to builda spring assembly to fit a seat frame of almost any arbitrary length.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are diagrammatic plan viewsof spring platforms differing from one another in length, in accordance with a fixed modular difference (much exaggerated, as shown) as provided by the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a spring assembly comprising two of these platform units, each of the minimum length within the range provided;

FIG. 5 is a similar view showing an assembly made up of two units, each exceeding the minimum size;

FIG. 6 is a small scale diagrammatic view, in broken lines, showing the seat frame of a sofa of substantial length and illustrating how a spring assembly for such a very long and arbitrarily dimensioned frame may be made up by the practice of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a horizontal section, substantially on the line 7-7 of FIG. 8, showing a single spring platform of a desirable type mounted in a chair seat frame;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary diagrammatic front elevation showing two united spring platforms;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view, to larger scale, showing a portion of the top frame of the two spring platforms, such, for example, as those of FIG; 7 which have been assembled and united by a spacer device and wherein the space between the top front members of the frames of the assembled spring platforms is so bridged as to provide the assembly with a top front edge which is of substantially uniform resiliency throughout its length;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary plan view of the parts shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a front elevation showing the connection between the top front members of adjacent platforms;

FIG. 12 is a section, to larger scale, on the line 12'-12 of FIG. 11; and

FIG. 13 is a composite view illustrating connectors or spacers of a range of sizes.

Referring to the drawings, the character P (FIG. 1) indicates a spring platform unit of the type which is desirably employed in accordance with the practice of the present invention. This unit comprises a top frame 23 and a bottom frame 24 (FIG. 8), each, in accordance with one desirable embodiment of the invention, being substantially rectangular and each consisting of stiff carbon steel spring wire which may, for instance, be of the order of one-eighth of an inch in frame may, for example, bemade of wire ofone-quarter inch. diameter in order to provide a stronger foundat on;

7 andrear members and to= the. oppositesidemembers're? spectively ofth e lovierfr'ainafand the Springs'are'secured; Y :atltlieirlo'wer ends to the rigid supporting'fstriic'ture thus provided. I a v i A As diagrammatically indicated iirFIG. 1, theff'ront'memv modular difference? a the mounting V noipart of the present invention, such details areofnit ted.

diameter, although the was Each of these framesmay consist ofa sihgle'leng thof wire suitably bent to shapeand havingtits endswelded or otherwise united, although welding or braxing. "'Interposed between theplanes of.

I the teachingof the present invention, there will be available to the furniture manufacturer platform units of'a ren mes-e; made of wire as heavy as ,on e-qila'rter of'ali inch'in diameter it may be preferabletomake it of suitable straightlengths,'united "approximatelyia't the respective. corners of'theframeby 1 insubstantial registry), there are arranged ro'ws'of'spiral f springs S of the generaltype employed in upholstery work and these springs aresecurely anchored .to'the 're--" spective' frames -and, to Teach otherlay any appropriate means, although as heregillustrated-fthe;coils ofthe-out'er are connected attheir hp'p'er'ends -59- appropriate means, familiar tothose skilled; in the art (FIG. 5); to form a I substantially horizontal supporting surface fora pad or rows are secured. to the td 'name g3 (FIGS. 8, 1 Q and' l 1' *by helical coils of vii -awhile thefseveralspring coils CllShiOIl. @The lower,frarn 24i (F1Q, desirably'cqmprises longitudinally and transversely extending 'lengthsof stiff wire secured, as by welding ori othefwise,- 'toth'efrontl ber'23, of thetop frame is integrally' joined atits left and.

V and. thus constitutes the modular unit, theplatfor'munits P l-arid P 2,- shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 respectively, are as'the modular unit P 'except verse width, that is, from lleft to 1 mediate unitsjare"of larger sizes. v v n {are lot such *differentfkngths' so? a's-v tomakeup the, exact length of thedesire'd assembly. 51.

substantial range' of sizes in which successiveunits differ from each other by a fixed amount, as here termed the modular difference. Furthermore,.in accordance with 1 the present in'ventionythe springmanufacturer will have provided devicesfor connecting adjacent platform 'units in a rangeof lengths also differin'g from eachjother according to an established modular difference. By means of'thisr'ange of platform units and connectors, it is readily possible for theifurniture manufacturer to buildup a s ring assembly. by'asuitable combination of platform units andconnectors which will bewithin a tolerated ap= "proach to the length of the frame F regardless of the length ofthe'latten Havingprovided himself'with' the proper assemblyof f platform units and connectors, vhe will then, arrange them in any convenient orderj as,-for example, suggested in ;FlG. 6,-,}wher ein the two endmost platform units'arej of 'the narrowjest widthwithin therange, while the' 1nter Likewise, theconnectors r exam f is st fi ess a p ti s th t of zthi 'h b frame of the: unit, andin' a range of lengths wherein, forexample, the'shortest orlmo'dula'r connector is 2.5 inches in length (measured betweenthe'centers of curvature'iat its opposite. endsland the modular difierence betweensucce ssive connectors is'.0.25 inchfor example; f, These connectors are. furnished with -theirendsibent to a hair-pin 100p so that they rn ay 'befslip'ped over the side -iner nbers 23b. and 23Gb (F161 10;). .of adjacentunits P "and P andzlthen have their e nds :c'l'osed togetherso that :they I grip @the rnemb'e'rsfl3b and 1230b xofithe respective j V units,j'tl1us{holding the;latterin. properly spaced position.

of the sam'etconstriiction that they differ in *transri ht, from the platform P? by a definite differenceinlwidth,ithisl difference, in:

a'c cordance 'withthe-'pfesent inventiombe ingaconstant or This modular difference may for example, baa-fraction between successive pla'tfor-m units.

of an. inch. The platform units, as thus 'liriefiy described, a

may be of the kind vdisclosed 'ini'greater; detailf-inf the United: States patent 'to"Levine,'"No. 2,910,114, dated October 27, 1959, although 'it is not necessary, 'inac-T cordance with. this invention, that the entire spring'platform forachair 'seatframefTand .adesirab'le way of mounting suc h a Unit-jinEa seat frarii e way-of example. However, since detailsiof of the spring platfofrri ,in'a seatframe form illustrated by Referring to FIG. 6, thereis indicateddiagrammaticaltrarily fixedgfor'example'it may be a distance of acertain number of feet and inches or'even fractiohsof'an inch. 7

Ordinarily,"i'n accoi'dan fwith prior custom, the manu- 'facturer would eitherhave tinuous platform from'end-to-end 'of the frameiby ha'nd labor, involvinga slow and difficult process, or hewotild have ordered from the maker of prefabricated drop-in I they be of precisely the a construction described-insaidpatent.. I

InFIG; 7 such a rnodular ,un itis shown as constituting i 6 a In'order-toprovide continuity between the front memsprings -'a single spring assemblyof the exact length required for this pa'rticular frame. Howeven'in accordance with the present invention, and assuming that the manufacturer of prefabricated spring platforms has adopted space between adjacent platforms.

(FIG. 10) is closelyadjacentjto the front H wever, the connector 2 6 does not-"gripthaframe memb'ers '23'b jand 230b-s'o as to, prevent relative'up and down. motion ofis aid framemembers; Thus, while normally the connector'26 maybe substantiallyhorizontal, as indicated in FIG. 11, thename member. 23binaymove downwardly relatively to the member 23Gb jif'dowriward forcelbe apj pliedjnearrnember- 23b, while, on theo'ther 'hand,;if the force be applied in adownward direction near the frame membei1230b,-the latter may "move down relat'ivelytotlie.

frame member 2%. Thusfthes'e connectors' 26 provide hfng'e connections betweenfadjacent spring platforms so 7 'that, although the*,platforms* are" connected, the down 7 ward. yield ofsthe uppersurface-of theassembly is not substantially diiferentat the 'spa ce between the. platforms thaniat i-poin ts directly above-the individual platform.

bers 23b; and 23 0b of the top/frames of-adjaceiit platforms P 'jand'P the pres'eint invention provides for'the 'arrahgementof a bridge memberB(FIGSQQQ 1 0 and 11),

i steel wire, for example 'like tne wire forming the "top ffrarrieme'mbe'r andliwhich is "of-a lengthwhich may; for example, beapproximately "three times a the width; of the desirably consisting of a. rectilinear length'of stiff spring Thus, the bridgeinemberf overlaps thefrontmembers 23b, and 230510151116 ad- 7 136cm; platforms for a substantial distan'ce and these over lapping portions aie'secur'ely bound to the frame members 231; and;

. which "secures the top fra'me. I V

r As shown in FIGS; A'andSpfor example, the. connect- 230b, forexampleby' the samehelical. coil 25 upper ends the spiral springs to the p I. ing'members 2;6 :(whi ch'also'constitutefspacer'and hinge proceeded to build up a conmembers). areqwspaped apart such spacers being shown in'FIGS; 4 andr5; Th'e'forecharacter 26a front=to-re ar, four most of :these-spacers, d'esignated byi the:

I members 23b and 23011 of the adjacent spring platforms soi'that its mid portion is; substantially in contachwith themidportionof the bridge member B. These members 26a and B are un ted at this point by a metallic clip 40 (FIGS. 9 and 10) I which may, for example, be a length of stiff sheet steel which is curled about the parts 26a and B and firmly compressed so that its ends overlap and rigidly unite the parts 26a and B.

With this arrangement the forward edge of the top frame member functions substantially as though it were continuous and-uninterrupted from one end of the assembly to the other and when the pad or cushion has been applied to an assembly built up in this manner, the fact that it consists of a plurality of independent prefabricated platforms, which in some instances may be spaced apart expressed as X;

etc., which numerically becomes 20 inches; 20.5 inches; 21.0 inches; 21.5 inches; 22.0 inches; etc.

If now the modular difference in the length between successive sizes of connecting devices be I and X (the length of the shortest connecting device) be 2.5 inches, then the lengths of successive sizes of connector may be expressed as X;

etc., or numerically 2.5 inches; 2.75 inches; 3.00 inches;

3.25 inches; 3.50 inches; etc.

It will be readily be apparent that by selecting platforms of suitable width from the available series and connectors appropriate lengths it becomes possible to build up a spring assembly which will fit a seat frame of almost any length including lengths involving fractions of an inch. It

- is further within the purview of the invention to provide a basic range of sizes of platforms beginning with the narrowest and extending, for instance, to include one which is double the width of the narrowest and then (to avoid the necessity for providing a continuous series extending up to a high multiple of the narrowest or modular unit and also reducing the number of units required to make up along spring assembly), to start a new series whose narrowest or modular unit would be a substantial multiple of the narrowest or modular unit of the first series and on the basis of this new modular unit to develop a new series, but preferably using the same modular difference.

The above numerical values are suggested merely by wayof example and as illustrative of the basic principle of the invention but without any intent to limit the scope of the invention to these particular values.

By the means and method of procedure thus provide it is readily possible for the furniture manufacturer to provide himself with spring assemblies of almost any desired length and with far less delay and at substantially less cost than has beenheretofore possible while fo1lowing customary prior practice.

While one desirable embodiment of the invention has herein been disclosed by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications, substitutions of materials, and order of methods steps which fall within the terms of the appended claims.

7 of the customary front-to-rear dimension and of arbitrary length, said assembly comprising a plurality of independent prefabricated spring platforms arranged side-by-side in said frame, all of said platforms being of the same frontto-rear dimensions, and connecting means so permanently uniting adjacent platforms as to provide an assembly of invariable length and such as to fit said seat frame, and wherein the assembly has a horizontal supporting surface whose forward edge functions substantially as though it were continuous and uninterrupted from end-to-end of the assembly;

2. A spring assembly according to claim 1, wherein each platform includes rows of coiled springs and upper and lower open frames of stiff spring steel wire, each frame having front members and side members extending rearwardly from said front member, and wherein the connecting means, whereby adjacent platforms are united, comprises hinge elements which connect the proximate side members of the frames of adjacent platforms and hold adjacent platforms in relatively fixed relation, bridge members, each of a stiffness approximating that of the wire constituting the platform frames, extending across the space between the adjacent ends of the front members of the upper frames of adjacent platforms and overlapping and being connected to said front members, and means rigidly connecting the midportion of said bridge element to that one of the hinge elements which is the nearest to the top frame of said adjacent frames. 7

3. A spring assembly for use in a furniture seat frame of arbitrary length, said assembly comprising, in combination, a plurality of individual prefabricated spring platforms, each having an upper and lower frame of stiff spring steel wire, each of said upper and lower frames including a substantially rectilinear front member and side members extending rearwardly from the front member, rows of coiled'springs interposed between the upper and lower frames of each platform, and means connecting the rows of springs to the platform frames, the front-to-rear dimension of all of the spring platforms being the same, spacer devices uniting the side members of the frames of adjacent platforms and holding the platforms in spaced relation, the foremost of said spacer devices being closely adjacent to the front members of the upper frames of the platforms which it unites, and a bridge member comprising a substantially rectilinear length of stiff spring wire extending across the space between the front members of the upper frames of adjacent platforms and being secured to and overlapping each of said front members, and means fixedly connecting the midportion of said bridge member to said foremost spacer device.

4. A spring assembly for use in a furniture seat frame of arbitrary length and of standard front-to-rear dimensions, said assembly comprising a plurality of individual prefabricated seat platforms, the front-to-rear dimension of all of said platforms being the same and properfor use in the aforesaid seat frame, some of said platforms differing in width from others in accordance with a fixed modular difference, means, comprising spacer devices, uniting adjacent platforms, some of the spacer devices differing in length from others in accordance with a fixed modular difference, the platforms and spacers comprised in said assembly being such that the completed assembly is of a fixed length such as to fit within the aforesaid seat frame, the means for uniting adjacent platforms being such that the forward edge of the assembly offers substantially the same degree of resistance to downward pressure in the space between adjacent platforms as at other portions of the supporting surface of the assembly.

5. That method of making a spring assembly for use in a furniture seat frame of arbitrary fixed length and standardfront-to-rear dimension which comprises as steps: providmg a reserve supply of prefabricated spring platforms each of standard front-to-rear dimension but which vary from one another in width according to a fixed modular dlfference; selecting from among said platforms a plurality such that their collective length is less than that of the desired assembly by an amount which is a fraction of 

1. A SPRING ASSEMBLY FOR USE IN A FURNITURE SEAT FRAME OF THE CUSTOMARY FRONT-TO-REAR DIMENSION AND OF ARBITRARY LENGTH, SAID ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF INDEPENDENT PREFABRICATED SPRING PLATFORMS ARRANGED SIDE-BY-SIDE IN SAID FRAME, ALL OF SAID PLATFORMS BEING OF THE SAME FRONTTO-REAR DIMENSIONS, AND CONNECTING MEANS TO PERMANENTLY UNITING ADJACENT PLATFORMS AS TO PROVIDE AN ASSEMBLY OF INVARIABLE LENGTH AND SUCH AS TO FIT SAID SEAT FRAME, AND WHEREIN THE ASSEMBLY HAS A HORIZONTAL SUPPORTING SURFACE WHOSE FORWARD EDGE FUNCTION SUBSTANTIALLY AS THOUGH IT WERE CONTINUOUS AND UNINTERRUPTED FROM END-TO-END OF THE ASSEMBLY. 